The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-04-23

otlieiWlsc Woulu urhS Slowly. W ncn
lived in the highlands, l entered into this
spirit of comradeship with animals, and
derived much pleasure from watching the
smaller rodents at work and at play
around my cabin.
The most interesting Of these animals
is the mountain, or trading rat, which
has queer and crooked development of
the commercial instinct, and the animal
which stands next to the trading rat, on
my list, for the interest it excitcs, is the
snowshoc rabbit.
A few years ago was living alone in
cabin which stood on golden gravel in
remote Rocky Mountain valley. One
morning, when was preparing TO work
in my mine, l thrust my right foot into
one Of my heavy rubber boots. 1t was
filled with something. turned the boot
upside down and shook it. Out fell
small bones, little stones, chips, pieces Of
sun-dricd mud, and bits of cloth. There
was quart Of the litter. 1t was triv-
ial annoyance, but it worried me be-
cause I thought some person had entered
my cabin while slept, and had filed my
boot to show how easily I could have
been robbed while slept. Occasionally
during that day thought Of the rubbish
filled boot, hut by night had for.
gotten the incident, and went to bed
and to sleep, to find my boot again
filled with rubbish on the following morn
ing. Boot in hand sat on n log in front
of my cabin and gazcd angrily into it.
| resolved to lie awake the succeeding
night and wa'ch for the intruder who
was amusing himself by playing pranks
on me. That day I slept, and looked
and longed for the setting of the sun.
When the full moon rose above the pines,
and the park which lay in front Of my
door was q tangle of fantastic shadows,
lopened the door of my cabin so as to
admit all the light possible, and placed
my boots in the slowly shifting parallel
orrom IF Silynr l;rht and tbop oo,,;n,od
to ;n,crviow INV nocturnal y;s;,ar II :.
manner which would have been hirhlv
disagreeable; to him, I got into bed and
waited for his coming. Presently l
heard n noise among the supportipp nolcs
of tho dirt roof over me. Listening in.
tently I heard an animal slowly descend
from lor TO lop. saw It indistinctlv
as it crossed the carthen floor Then i
stood mo,ionless in Tho moonlirbt nv nv
boots ! saw its while breast and short
hairy tail II stood LOOKING at INV hoo,s
with onnorent ,n,crcs, for m;nu,o thon
walked 10 n box in which T kent dricd
fruit nickcd nm n nrunc with 10
mouth and slowly clambercd lin tho lore
and disappcared in the roof In n fcw
seconds il came down the wall amin and
picked IN chin, which It carried into
one of nv boots and left there / Aroin Il
took n nrunc and opain Il dcnos;,od =
chin in the boot Greatly relicvcd IN
find that had bccn ANNOYED hv nm
animal instead of by n man | Inv in nv
bunk and interestedly watched Tho rot
conduct the most onc.sided commercial
transaction I Ind ever seen Il stole nv
provisions, and apparcntlv cndcovorcd
to s,itlc its conscience BY nretendinr 10
trade with me- Nv heart went oni 10
the four.lerred thief and 7 did No, in
terfero with its swan Tho next d,v 7
discovered its nest and found in !, =
couple of pounds Of dried frnit which 4,
had stored, probably for winters uso :
That rat and I became !, Mo Shest of